Any discussion of the prior art throughout the specification should in no way be considered as an admission that such prior art is widely known or forms part of the common general knowledge in the field.
There are many types of electrical connector's available with the main purpose to connect and supply electrical current to a mating connector. There are many electrical connectors that are used in applications which they were physically not designed for or certain connectors may be designed for the application however lack essential physical protective features to operate correctly and prolong their operational life. An example of this is using a heavy duty connector assembly made for fixed interior use in or on the exterior of a motor vehicle. In such circumstances the connector is vulnerable to the intake of dust and moisture as well as exposed to extreme vibration. Furthermore the mounting of the connector may not be sufficient to make it securely attached to the vehicle. Any mating connector would suffer the same problems. The mating connection between the two connectors could also prove to make a poor electrical connection and possibly even be disconnected due to vibration because of incorrect mounting and mating retaining setups.
Attempts have been made to protect electrical connectors in the form of molded housings. Conventional housings of this nature include those found in WO/2005/069444 and WO/2009/043862.
WO/2005/069444 discloses a housing for a connector module in which the housing has a frame for which the connector module can be inserted to. A stirrup device which is movable about the housing serves the purpose of aiding the coupling of an additional connector as well as providing a locking means for the initial connector module in the frame.
This device while providing a housing has a main objective of locking the connector module to the housing by way of stirrup device. The connector module is not fixable to the main housing with out the stirrup device engaged. Furthermore the device does not include a complete barrier to protect the connector module from environmental conditions.
WO/2009/043862 discloses connector cover with first and second connecting members which are able to be connected together to cover a connector. At least one of the parts has a protruding locking pin to engage and lock the connector cover to a separate housing.
The connector cover does not have a fixing means to the actual connector itself however; instead the assembly relies on the connecting of the first and second connecting members together to hold the housing, total stability is only achieved when the connector cover is engaged into the separate housing. This device also lacks a complete barrier to protect the housed connector inside the cover assembly.
It has now been found by the present inventors that a connector cover assembly can be economically constructed to form a complete barrier to physically protect an electrical connector without affecting its operation or versatility. It has also been found by the present inventors that such an assembly can be used with different connector types.